The Salt Water Flush Didn’t Work (What to Do)?

This process, along with the herbal laxative detox tea, is probably the most confusing, most alarming, most questioned part of the master cleanse, apart from the fact you don't eat anything except the lemonade. The strong reactions come from the strong associations we have with words like “salt” and “laxative” and so worry about safety is present just beneath the surface of each question, and rightfully so (even though misplaced).

6 reasons why the salt water flush didn't work

If the salt water isn't flushing through your system in an hour or two, you're probably guilty of one of these 5, and only 5 reasons:

You took the sea salt water on a full stomach

If you take the sea salt water solution too soon after eating, the food will soak up the liquid and not allow the digestive system the opportunity to reject the solution independently. You basically just make a nice salty soup inside your stomach

Your salt water was too salty

You can't over do it. Less is more in this case. It's hard to know exactly what will work. Where did you start from? Always start at the base of 2 teaspoons of sea salt. One common mistake here is to use 2 tablespoons, easily enough confused by the 2 tablespoon measure of both the fresh lemon juice and the maple syrup. I used to make that mistake all the time, and even published it as such, because 2 tablespoons worked for me, which is why I know, the ration can vary greatly with success rates.

You didn't use enough salt

If less was more in the case above then now more is more. The right amount is more or less exactly what will work for you (did that make sense?). Usually the problem isn't too little salt as most people don't start out with less than 2 teaspoons, and if there is another measuring area to cause issue it's the water volume. 1 litre should be used, and often people will use a standard glass, 8-10 oz which is just 1/4 liter, again finding themselves in a less is more situation. They need more water to balance the right amount of salt, if the ratio was right. Long story short. 1 liter. 2 teaspoons. Increment first up 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you get to 4 teaspoons, which is still 2 teaspoons less than the 2 tablespoons I have had work for me. If the salt water is still not working, revisit the other reasons on this page (especially the last one)

You used the wrong kind of salt (iodized salt, table salt)

As covered in another faq regarding the type of salt to use in the salt water cleanse we made it clear that you must only use sea salt, and non-iodized sea salt. Iodized sea salt will not work. Did you know that our salive is 99% saline? Did you know that we evolved from the sea (maybe, probably) [this is long before our early primate phase], and that the similarities between human blood and sea water prove (arguably), that we came from the sea (where all life probably did). If fact this is why the sea salt water flush works, because the solution is so much like our blood (specifically what's called the specific gravity), that our digestive system won't process the liquid like food. We're built to avoid the salt, and osmosis and diffusion go to work for us to pass out this usually dangerous drink as to prevent any harm to our cells.

You didn't completely drink the entire salt water solution

Often times it can be hard to get the whole 1 liter of lovely saltiness down your throat without sending it back up like a whale's blow hole. It's a challenge I know. You do tend to get used to it, and there are several tricks to make the salt water flush easier that you should definitely check out because if you don't manage to get it down in 1 short time span, you won't get the flushiness you need. Sipping here and there from the edge of your teaspoon won't cut it. It may taste brothy but it's a FLUSH, not a can of Campbell's salty finest. You have to chug it to flush it (as the saying goes –I know that's not a saying).

The sea salt gods didn't favour you

If you're doing all else right, as many have proclaimed in frustration “flush not working” you might just consider that god simply doesn't like you. That's god with a lowercase g, cause I am sure God loves you. But this god, the god that decides why the salt water flush doesn't work for you has chosen to curse you with one more challenge in life today. But know this to overcome even that seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The Salt Water Flush is optional. It's great, and if you can get it to work you should try to get a couple in for each 10 day master cleanse, but you can simply use the herbal laxative detox tea. As long as your having a bowel movement and eliminating toxins that the lemon cleanser and the rest of your “every body detox” is stirring up each day.

What did you do to make the salt water flush work?

If you have any tips please do let us know, and if you think your situation is special, then please tell us your struggle. We'll lend an ear and support your efforts. Leave a comment below, and share this post if you found it answered your question “why isn't the salt water flush working?”

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34 Comments

I did the flush with 32 ounces/1 litre warm water and 2 tsps of pink sea salt. It did not work. I might have been dehydrated, and I probably did not drink it fast enough. After an hour realizing it was not going to come out I made a second batch but of half the amounts. Then I drank that very quickly, all at once. It seemed to work. In 15 minutes I was finally on the toilet and lots of water + stuff coming out. I can’t say it was all 48 ounces and 3 tsps of salt but I still need to go again soon so maybe!

In my opinion, the flush works well when one is well-prepared. The following has always worked for me: 2 to 3 days before, eat raw foods only. This will prepare you for a nice flush. Another benefit is taking a herbal laxative tea the night before – this should be the last thing you ingest.
This has never failed me or friends to whom I guided for the salt water flush.
I hope this helps.

My general rule is that I normally start cleansing 2 or 3 days before the MC. The mild cleanse I use is eating strictly raw foods for 2 to 3 days prior to fasting day #1. This has ALWAYS worked for me. I hope this helps.

I drank 1 litre of salt solution and then waited for about 15 minutes but nothing happened. I got quite worried as on another site it was written that you should get the bowel movement within 5 minutes. I felt anxious about my body assimilating all the excessive salt. Then I drank another 1 litre of the solution and felt nauseous. After about an hour of waiting, I drank some hot water (without salt) and felt the urge for washroom. The flush wasn’t that much and with that much pressure as expected :/ I think I’m gonna try this after 3-4 days again with the exact Himalayan pink salt. No other sea salt. God loves me.

I’ve done this a few times in my life, not on the cleanse, although my first intro to it was on the cleanse. Out of maybe 9 times 3 times it didn’t work. A few things I noticed is if you’re dehydrated, it won’t work. If you’re right before your period, maybe it’s an iron thing, it won’t work. If the water’s not hot enough, it won’t work. The right salt is imperative, even all sea salts don’t work. It must be a good quality sea salt, where the only 2 words in the ingredients are “sea” and “salt.” I bought 2 different kinds of the wrong sea salt specifically for the flush. I wouldn’t add the lemon. Be meticulous in your measuring. Do it in the morning when you first wake up, because the amount of time your stomach is empty does make a difference. An hour or 2 for me, I don’t think is significant enough and I’m not willing to chance that. If it’s going to work, for me it happens within half an hour. At half an hour if it hasn’t started, I’ve actually drank hot green tea and it worked. Some people suggest lying on your side and massaging your stomach, I don’t think that makes a difference. If it’s going to work or not work, lying down doesn’t seem to matter for me as I’ve had it work without that.

I did this and 2 hrs later still waiting. I had eaten what was recommended on another site 2.5 hrs prior to consuming the salt water. I ate pineapple, papaya, 2 cups grated carrot and pepita seeds along with some probiotic yoghurt. Yep! Pretty disgusting soup in there right now..

In my first mc i used exactly 2 teaspoons along with a litre of water. Because i didnt have 1 litre glass i used your strategy “shot-and follow” which stated that i could drink 500ml of salt water closely accompanied with 500ml of regular water. It worked well but onmy 7th day it somehow stopped working until my 10th day. No problem there. Here i am on my second master cleanse, im on my 7th day and have done 5 salt flush with absolutely no wanted result, i feel bloated all the time and instead gain water weight.

I did 1 tablespoon of salt (as I read on another website) with 32 oz of water and it didn’t work :/ I felt extremely nauseous. I’m finally not as nauseous now (over 3 hours later) but no real results. My stomach just feels uncomfortable and is grumbling now :/ I will definitely not be doing this again.